The Problem of the Flair

It is another day of toil for the Living Room and to highlight that fact, displayed above is my compressor and my 100 year old custom needlepoint workbench upon which my air nailer rests. As soon as I get my Fine China Plate Hammer Rest and my taffeta doily staining pads, I'll be all set to go.

Today, we (and when I say "we", I mean Phil) must confront the most tedious part of the crown molding project. The Chimney Outcropping.

This area flares at the top as one may note from the photograph. The crown molding is designed to adhere to two flat surfaces. I'm not sure how we (Phil) are going to accomplish this. I presume it will require some filing, sanding, sawing of the bottom portion of the molding in order to allow it to rest properly into the flare.

Later that Same Day: It is evening now and day is done. So is the crown molding. Although, as with everything we do with this project, it did not go easily.

Filing, sanding and/or sawing did not solve the problem of the flair. It turned out that the molding would be too thin were the dentil features are.

We have a problem with squareness! It's a 100 year old house and it has settled somewhat over the hun. Plus, we have that damn flare you see above on the chimney portion of the walls. 

We are going to progress to another thin line of molding to be placed below the crown. I'm hoping that another strip of molding will help to hide that gap around the fireplace. Stand by for news as it happens.

At this point, I will say that I am not exactly happy with this molding we purchased on-line. You will notice from the picture above that we used pre-fabricated inside and outside corners. They do not match up well with the contours of the molding. 

I'm sure this will all look better once it is painted. That will help to hide some of the imperfections and the intense sanding I intend to do to make things match.